(Main Office)

The firm, founded in 1979 by Wylie A. Aitken, is listed in Best Lawyers in America. The firm is also featured in The Pre-eminent Lawyers of America, and specializes in all phases of complex civil litigation.

The firm is nationally recognized for expertise in insurance bad faith law and renowned for aggressively representing seriously injured plaintiffs. The firm's accomplishments include the largest personal injury settlement in Orange County history, the largest Personal Injury case against the Federal Government, and, the largest personal injury case involving recreational playground equipment. This is attributed to our focus on aggressive case development, resulting in numerous multi-million-dollar trial verdicts and settlements. The firm is located in central Orange County and practices in all California State and Federal Courts with primary emphasis on litigation occurring within Orange County and the surrounding counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino.

Trial judgments include: Gutierrez vs. USA, a $55 Million verdict award to a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic, nine year old girl; Feitler vs. Infranca, a $23.5 Million verdict award to a 14 year old boy who received a traumatic brain injury; Johanson vs. Boaz, a $6,868,000 verdict award to a quadriplegic who lost his memory and was injured in his own car, involving circumstantial evidence of who was driving the car; Schmid vs. Federal Ins. Co. (Chubb), a $17,000,000 verdict in a fire insurance bad faith case; a pioneering judgment of $5,000,000 in the medical malpractice field, Chavez vs. Altig; a $3,400,000 jury award with a prejudgment interest for the death of a young adult on behalf of her parents in Hill vs. Bear Automotive (the largest verdict of its kind in the history of California at the time); and the $2,100,000 award for Laura Small vs. the County of Orange, which involved a mountain lion attack and has sparked a national debate on the safety of public parks; Major settlements include Confidential settlement of wrongful death case stemming from Big Thunder Mountain incident at Disneyland; and confidential settlements (Los Angeles Times estimated $25,000,000) of a wrongful death case involving Sailing Ship Columbia incident at Disneyland.

As appellate counsel, the firm has prevailed in landmark decisions such as: Boicourt vs. AMEX Assurance Co., 78 Cal.App.4th 1390 (2000); Neal vs. Farmers Insurance Exchange, 21 Cal.3d 910; Gourley vs. State Farm, 53 Cal.3d 111; Veterinary Pathology, Inc. vs. California Health Laboratories, Inc., 116 Cal.App.3d 111; Rothman vs. Jackson, 49 Cal.App.4th 1134; and Steiner vs. Superior Court (People), 49 Cal.App.4th 1771, and has participated as amicus curiae in many of the major tort decisions of the last 25 years.

Statement of Practice

Commercial Torts, Corporate Fraud and Bad Faith Insurance Law. General Civil Trial Practice, Serious Injury and Death Cases, Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, Legal Malpractice, Products Liability, Aviation, Automobile Accidents, Railroad Accidents, Wrongful Death.

Address

3 MacArthur Place, Suite 800
Santa Ana, CA 92707, (Orange Co.)

Phone

Phone: 866-958-6258
Fax: 714-434-3600
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Website

http://www.aitkenlaw.com

MEMBERS OF FIRM

Wylie A. Aitken (Member) born Detroit, Michigan, January 4, 1942; admitted to bar, 1966, California and U.S. District Court, Central District of California. Education: Santa Ana College (A.A., 1961); California State College at Fullerton; Marquette University (LL.B., 1965). Associate Editor, Marquette Law Review, 1963-1965. Named among "The Top 100 Influential California Lawyers," Southern California Super Lawyer; OCTLA "Top Gun 2006 Trial Lawyers of the Year"; "Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America"; and, OC Hispanic Bar Association "2006 Trial Lawyer of the Year." Recipient: Lifetime Legal Achievement Award, FTCR Rage for Justice, 2007; Lifetime Achievement Award, Marquette Law School; Anti Defamation League Jurisprudence Award, 2003. Orange County Trial Lawyers Association Business Trial Lawyer of the Year. American Board of Trial Advocates, "Plaintiff Trial Lawyer of the Year 1998." Author: "The Abuse of a Showing of a 'Course of Conduct' as a Defense to Punitive Damages," Forum, November, 1999; Jefferson's, California Evidence Benchbook, Editorial Board, December, 1999; "Special Problems of Proof: Handling the Child Plaintiff-Witness," Lawyer's Guide to Medical Proof, October, 1992; "Medical Malpractice: the Alleged 'Crisis' in Perspective," Insurance Law Journal, February, 1976; "Tortious Termination of Business Relationship," 21 Am Jur Proof of Facts 2nd, 1980; "Presenting the Medical Evidence" Trauma, December 1983; "Symposium: Bad Faith Insurance Issues in the 80's," 1 Western State University Law Review 55, Fall, 1986. Member, Chief Justices Select Committee on Court Reform, 1977-1978. Attorney Member, Statewide Task Force on Court Facilities, 1998—. Member: Orange County Bar Association; Celtic Bar Association of Orange County (Founding Member); State Bar of California; Orange County Trial Lawyers Association (President, 1970); California Trial Lawyers Association (Member, State Board, 1970-1973; Chairman, Consumer Protection Committee, 1972; Vice President, 1973-1975; President, 1977); The Association of Trial Lawyers of America (Member, Board of Governors, 1977—); National Board of Trial Advocacy; American Board of Trial Advocates (Foundation-Trustee); Robert A. Banyard American Inns of Court. Practice Areas: General Civil Trial Practice; Personal Injury; Insurance Bad Faith; Insurance; Products Liability Law; Aviation Law; Medical Legal Malpractice.Email: Wylie A. Aitken

Richard A. Cohn (Member) born Los Angeles, California, June 11, 1963; admitted to bar, 1989, California. Education: University of California, San Diego (B.A., 1985); University of Southern California (J.D., 1989). Member: Orange County Bar Association; State Bar of California; Consumer Attorneys of California; Orange County Trial Lawyers Association (Past President). Practice Areas: Civil Trial Practice; Serious Injury; Death Cases; Products Liability; Aviation; Insurance; Bad Faith; Medical Malpractice.Email: Richard A. Cohn

Darren O'Leary Aitken (Member) born Santa Ana, California, May 4, 1964; admitted to bar, 1989, California and U.S. District Court, Central District of California. Education: University of Notre Dame (B.A., 1986); University of Southern California (J.D., 1989). Phi Beta Kappa; Phi Delta Phi. Managing Editor, Southern California Law Review. Author: "The Product Liability Provision of the Civil Liability Reform Act of 1987: An Evaluation of Its Impact and Scope," Southern California Law Review, July 1989; "Updated Proposition 51 Settlement Strategies to Maximize your Client's Recovery," CTLA Forum, October 1994; "The Absence of a Showing of a 'Course of Conduct' As a Defense to Punitive Damages (Must the Carrier Be a Recidivist Or is Being a First Time Offender Sufficient?)" September 1999; "Winning Mediations: Successful Preparation for Successful Presentation," OC Lawyer, 2006. Southern California Rising Star, 2004; Southern California Super Lawyer, 2005-2008. Member, Board of Directors, Constitutional Rights Foundation of Orange County. Member: Orange County and Hispanic (President, 1999) Bar Associations; Public Law Centers; Association of Business Trial Lawyers (Orange County); Consumer Attorneys of California; Celtic Bar Association of Orange County (Founding President, 2002); Notre Dame Club of Orange County (Director, 1994-2006); William P. Gray Inns of Court. Reported Cases: Rothman vs. Jackson, 49 Cal.App.4th 1134, 57 Cal.Rptr.2nd 284 (1996). Practice Areas: Civil Trial Practice; Serious Injury; Death Cases; Legal Malpractice; Products Liability; Aviation; Corporate Fraud; Bad Faith.Email: Darren O'Leary Aitken

Christopher Aitken (Member) born Orange, California, May 10, 1969; admitted to bar, 1997, California. Education: University of California at Los Angeles (B.A., 1992); University of Southern California at Los Angeles (J.D., 1996). Recipient, Law & Politics Southern California "Rising Star," 2008-2009. Contributing Editor to 4th Edition of Jefferson's California Evidence Benchbook. Member: Orange County Bar Association (Judiciary Committee and Charitable Fund Committee); State Bar of California; Hispanic Bar Association; Orange County Trial Lawyers Association; Consumer Attorneys of California; Association of Business Trial Lawyers; William P. Gray Inn of Court; Legion Lex Inn of Court; Laura's House (Chairman, Board of Directors). Practice Areas: Civil Trial Practice; Serious Injury; Death Cases; Products Liability; Aviation; Insurance; Bad Faith.Email: Christopher Aitken

ASSOCIATES

Casey R. Johnson (Associate) born Van Nuys, California, July 8, 1974; admitted to bar, 2002, California and U.S. District Court, Central District of California. Education: San Diego State University (B.A., 1997); University of Southern California (J.D., 2002). Southern California Rising Star, 2005-2008. Volunteer: Constitutional Rights Foundation of Orange County. Member, Mock Trial Program. Member: Orange County Bar Association; State Bar of California; Orange County Trial Lawyers Association (Board of Directors); Consumer Attorneys of California; American Association for Justice; Orange County Women Lawyers Association; Association of Business Trial Lawyers. Practice Areas: Personal Injury; Wrongful Death; Insurance Bad Faith.Email: Casey R. Johnson

Michael Penn (Associate) admitted to bar, 2004, California. Education: University of California at Santa Barbara (B.A., Political Science, with honors, 1998); Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan; Chapman University School of Law (J.D., 2004). He started his career at Aitken·Aitken·Cohn as an associate in 2004. He specializes in litigation with an emphasis in wrongful death, products liability and premises liability. He has been named a Southern California Super Lawyers Rising Star by Los Angeles Magazine in 2007, 2008, and 2009. Mr. Penn is currently Chairman of the Orange County Association of Business Trial Lawyers' Leadership Development Committee and Co-Chairman of the Orange County Bar Association Products Liability Section. Mr. Penn also serves as an attorney coach for the Canyon High School Mock Trial Team in Anaheim, California, and as a Local Board Member of the California Selective System for Region III. He is also an officer with the Warren J. Ferguson Inn of Court. Member: Celtic, Orange County (Chairman, Young Lawyers Division, 2008), Orange County Hispanic, Orange County Asian American and Asian American Bar Associations; Orange County Bar Association of Business Trial Lawyers; Consumer Attorneys of California; Orange County Trial Lawyers Association; Warren J. Ferguson Inn of Court. Practice Areas: Litigation; Wrongful Death; Products Liability; Premises Liability.Email: Michael Penn